Confederate Cavalryman Mis-Identified as Union Casualty for 150 Years

Cullen Britton

Private
Company C
12th Kentucky Cavalry
Confederate States Army
CIVIL WAR

On a sunny November afternoon that was described as an “Indian summer day”, over 20,000 Confederate troops lined up against a force of 25,000 Union soldiers, who were outside of Franklin, Tennessee. The battlefield was wide, open ground; but the Union forces were “entrenched behind three lines of breastworks and abatis”. At 4:00pm, Confederate General John Bell Hood ordered his men to attack.

The ensuing battle consisted of the Confederate forces slamming themselves into Union defenses. At first, the rebel forces overwhelmed two Union brigades that had been placed in front of the defenses. This caused the Union troops to hesitate firing into the mass of men in front of them, because some of them were their comrades. The Confederates took advantage and reached the defensive works, nearly breaking the line. In the end, the defensive lines held.

Of the 45,000 troops on both sides, nearly 10,000 became casualties – two thirds of them Confederates.

One of them was Private Cullen Britton, a member of the 12th Kentucky Cavalry (CSA). He had enlisted seven months earlier, leaving behind a wife and three children. During the Battle of Franklin, he suffered a “round ball” gunshot wound to his left knee, which shattered the joint. He was then taken as a prisoner of war on 18 Dec 1864; what occurred – between his wounding on 30 Nov and his capture on 18 Dec – is not known.

He arrived at Army General Hospital #1 in Nashville on 26 Dec 1864 – almost a month after he was wounded. Four days later, he underwent a “lateral flap amputation in the middle third of left thigh”. On 6 Jan 1865, he succumbed to his wound and “exhaustion from amputation”. His death and interment report stated: he was married to Nellie Britton, who was living in Paducah, TN; he was 40 years old; his residence before enlistment was Weakley, TN; and, he had no personal effects.

He was initially buried at the Nashville City Cemetery, which was the normal practice for deaths at the Army hospitals. Later, his remains were removed and reinterred at the Nashville National Cemetery in Madison, TN. During this process, there was confusion around his affiliation – was he a Union or Confederate soldier – and his regiment.

The Battle of Franklin involved both the 12th Kentucky Infantry (Union) and the 12th Kentucky Cavalry (CSA). His hospital records clearly documented that he was a Confederate POW who served in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry. However, in the burial registers compiled after the war, his unit was inadvertently changed to “12th Kentucky Infantry” – a Union regiment.

On the final “official” burial registry, the confusion must have been evident, because his unit was recorded as “12th Kentucky —————“. The officials could not discern if his unit was infantry or cavalry.

When he was buried at Nashville National Cemetery, he was provided a veteran’s headstone in the style denoting a Union soldier. It is inscribed: CULLEN BRITTON – KY. Both pieces of information are correct. **

There is also some confusion about his burial location. On two registries, he is buried in gravesite H-336. On two other registries, he is buried in gravesite H-7531. But on the current burial registries, his gravesite is recorded as H-9532, which is the number inscribed on his headstone.

[**  His father used the spelling “BRITTAIN” and Cullen’s wife and at least one child used “BRITTAIN” after his death, but all of his military records (CSA & Union) recorded his surname as “BRITTON”]